Decontamination facility

ABSTRACT

A mobile decontamination facility vehicle comprises two or fewer interior walls; the interior walls being seamless and defining an interior space. There is at least one removable partition that defines two decontamination areas within the interior space. The facility has a drain trough disposed centrally between the interior walls for removing waste water. A waste-water tank connects to the drain for holding waste water from the decontamination areas. A sump tank connects to the waste-water tank for receiving waste water from the waste-water tank by gravity flow. The sump tank has one or more sump pumps located inside it for pumping waste water from the facility to disposal.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention pertains to the decontamination of persons whohave been exposed to hazardous substances, particularly large numbers ofpersons at one time.

BACKGROUND

[0002] This invention relates to methods of decontaminating personsusing decontamination units, and, in particular, a mobiledecontamination unit that can be readily transported to an emergencysite that presents hazardous materials.

[0003] With the wide spread use of hazardous chemicals, and thepossibility of chemical, biological, or nuclear terrorism, it isincreasingly important to provide a mobile unit that can be readilytransported to an emergency situation and can be easily used. Further,it may be necessary in the future to have a decontamination unit for anyfire since many building materials contain toxic substances andaccordingly it may be important for the fire and rescue personnel to gothrough a decontamination process before returning to their respectivestations. The reader will appreciate that the decontamination unit mightalso be used by police departments, ambulance services, gas companies,work departments, environmental agencies, or transportation agenciessince their personnel may also become exposed in emergency or evenroutine situations.

[0004] Another difficult problem is how to avoid secondary contaminationof the hospital in hazardous-materials emergencies; particularly theemergency room, when the hospital is overwhelmed with large numbers ofpersons suffering from contamination in a disaster. Thus, there is alsoa need for a mobile decontamination facility available to hospitals inan emergency.

[0005] Some prior art references have recognized the need ofdecontaminating personnel. For instance, Shankman, U.S. Pat. No.4,796,311, shows an intake facility for use in conjunction with ahospital emergency room. The facility is to provide a system todecontaminate individuals prior to an individual mixing with theexisting emergency room facilities. This intake facility includes a roomfor bagging the patient's clothing, a first shower room where thepatient is sprayed with a mixture of water and detergent, a secondshower room where the patient is sprayed with water, a drying room and atriage room.

[0006] Another device for decontaminating equipment and personnel isshown in Shankman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,256. This patent shows a mobiledecontamination unit having a compartment for decontaminating personneland a separate compartment for decontaminating equipment. Thecompartment for decontaminating personnel includes an area for thepersonnel to strip off their clothes and store them in bins, a showerarea and a drying off area.

[0007] Stewart, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,102, discloses a mobiledecontamination unit having a means for maintaining positive airpressure in its shower compartments. Such complex arrangements areusually not needed, and add considerably to the cost of adecontamination unit.

[0008] However, the prior art has failed to adequately address twoimportant issues: a decontamination facility must be capable of beingquickly and thoroughly cleaned of contaminants, and it must be adaptableto handling either mixed male and female subjects, or subjects of asingle sex. Both thorough and rapid cleaning is only possible if theinterior 1 space of the facility, including both wall and floors, has noseams, cracks or crevices that can retain dirt and contaminants. Thereis a need for a mobile decontamination facility that provides suchbenefits, and at a low cost.

SUMMARY

[0009] A decontamination facility vehicle comprises at least oneinterior wall; the interior wall being seamless and defining an interiorspace. There may be at least one removable partition that defines twodecontamination areas within the interior space. The facility has asingle drain disposed centrally between the interior walls for removingwaste water, and running substantially the length of the interior space.A waste-water tank connects to the drain for holding waste water fromthe decontamination areas.

[0010] A sump tank connects to the waste-water tank for receiving wastewater from the waste-water tank by gravity flow. The sump tank has oneor more sump pumps located inside it for pumping waste water from thefacility to disposal. The sump tank further includs a means for raisingand lowering the sump tank, to allow gravity flow of waste water fromthe waste-water tank to the sump tank when the facility is in operation.

DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of theinvention, with the roof removed to show the layout of the interiorspace.

[0012]FIG. 2 is a cross-section detail of a preferred way to support thecenter partitions of the preferred embodiment.

[0013]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment.

[0014]FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the preferred embodiment.

[0015]FIG. 5 is a cross-section of the preferred embodiment, showing theflow of water from shower heads to the floor and into the drain.

[0016]FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the floor drain of thepreferred embodiment, showing the flow of water from the showers to thedrain.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a decontamination facility(100) constructed according to the invention. Such a facility (100) ismost conveniently constructed on a trailer chassis, where the chassishas a steel frame supporting its floor and walls. FIG. 1 depicts amobile facility, but the reader should note that the invention is notlimited to mobile facilities, but also include fixed facilities.

[0018] The preferred embodiment has an entry door (110) at one end forentry of contaminated persons, and one or more exit doors (120) at itsopposite end. In the case where large numbers of people must disrobe,shower, and dress, it is most convenient to station a portable entrytent (180) and exit tent (190) at the respective entry and exit doors(110, 120).

[0019] The interior walls (140) of the decontamination facility (100)define an interior space (160). The interior walls (140) are seamlessalong their entire lengths, thus eliminating cracks and joints wheredirt or contaminants could lodge. The interior walls (140) are integralwith the floor (145), thus forming one seamless interior from theceiling to the central drain (300). Preferably, the interior walls (140)are made of fiberglass, although other non-porous plastics or compositematerials could be used. In many emergency situations, it will beessential to rapidly clean the facility (100) and return it to operationas soon as possible. Seamless walls allow this to be done with pressurewashing, without the need to manually scrub walls with joints orcrevices.

[0020] The preferred embodiment provides at least one removablepartition (130) to divide the interior space (160) into two showeringareas. In the preferred embodiment, the removable partitions (130) arefour-foot sections of fiberglass-coated wood, although any relativelylight-weight, non-porous material could be used. Shower curtains couldalso be used for the interior partitions (130). The partitions (130) arepreferably suspended from the ceiling (155) on rollers (220). Aconventional roller and hanger apparatus is shown in FIG. 2. This allowsthem to be removed or inserted to meet the demands of a given emergency.For example, in some cases, all contaminated persons may be of the samesex, and it may be faster to remove the partitions and send all of themto the showers. In other cases, where the persons are of mixed sexes,the partitions (130) can be installed to provide separated showeringareas. Privacy curtains (not shown) may separate the exit area (170) andentry (110) from the showering areas (160).

[0021] The shower heads are preferably mounted in the ceiling (155) ofthe facility (100) to avoid piercing the interior walls (140) and addingcracks or joints difficult to clean.

[0022] It will be necessary to have wheels and thus wheel wells insideany mobile facility (100) (although were height is not a consideration,the floor may be above the wheels). This is taken advantage of in thepreferred embodiment by shaping the seamless interior walls (140) toaccommodate the wheel wells and provide benches (170) along the outsideof the walls (140).

[0023] As will be discussed later, all waste water runs from theinterior space (160) into one centrally-disposed drain (300). The drainempties into a waste-water tank (200) beneath the floor of the facility(100), keeping in mind that the floor is an integral part of theseamless interior walls (140).

[0024] An innovation not disclosed in the prior art is a removableoutside tank (210) for stretcher victims. These persons may be washed byemergency crews in the outside tank (210), and the waste water from theoutside tank (210) preferably drains by gravity to the waste-water tank(200) by means of a hose (260) connected therewith.

[0025] The decontamination facility (100) will have a power plant (330)comprising a conventional electric generator (not shown separately) anda conventional means (not shown separately) for heating and mixing waterfor the showers (150). The power plant (330) would not be needed, ofcourse, for a fixed installation where hot water and power hookups areavailable.

[0026]FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment with theceiling (155) and partitions (130) removed. FIG. 3 shows how theinterior walls (140) are joined at a central drain (300), disposedcentrally between the interior walls (140) in the form of a trough (310)sloping in from each end toward the center of the decontaminationfacility (100), from where waste water is conveyed by a drain intake(205) to the waste-water tank (200). Also shown in FIG. 3 is a sump tank(240), connected to the waste-water tank (200), for pumping waste-waterto disposal.

[0027]FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the preferred decontaminationfacility (100), showing the wheel wheels (270) defining the interiorbenches (230). FIG. 4 also shows typical interior structure, in thepreferred embodiment, steel framing (290) supporting the seamlessinterior walls (140) and covered by an outside wall (135). FIG. 4 showsthe sump tank (240) in its up position (240) and down position (245).

[0028]FIG. 5 shows the flow of water downward from the showers (150),across the floor (145) and into the drain (300) defined by the draintrough (310). FIG. 5 also shows the tank (210) for stretcher cases andthe flow of water therefrom to the waste-water tank (200). Theadjustable sump tank (240) is connected to the waste-water tank (200) bya pipe or hose (260). For gravity flow, this tank must be lower than thewaste-water tank (200). This is accomplished by raising the sump tank(240) for travel, and lowering it to a dropped position (245) when thedecontamination facility (100) is parked and in operation. FIG. 3 showsa pivot (250) at one end of the sump tank (240) to allow for thistravel. The sump tank (240) may be fixed in its travel position by anyconvenient means, such as brackets or hooks (not shown).

[0029]FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the mating of the interiorwalls (140) and floor (145) and the center drain (300). The seamlessinterior walls (140) and floor (145) mate to the trough (310) definingthe center drain (300). The overlap joint between the interior walls andthe trough (310) is sealed by a sealant (315). This means the only seamsin the decontamination facility (100) are below the walls (140) andfloor (145), thus leaving the entire interior of the decontaminationfacility (100) seamless and easy to clean by washing into the drain(300). For safety, the drain (300) is preferably covered by a removablegrate (320), having holes (325).

I claim:
 1. A decontamination facility comprising: at least one interiorwall; the interior wall being seamless; the interior wall defining aninterior space; a single drain; the drain running substantially thelength of the interior space; and, a waste-water tank connected to thedrain for holding waste water from the decontamination areas.
 2. Thedecontamination facility of claim 1, further having at least oneremovable partition; the partition defining two decontamination areaswithin the interior space.
 3. The decontamination facility of claim 1,where the drain is disposed centrally between the interior walls.
 4. Thedecontamination facility of claim 1, further including a sump tankconnected to the waste-water tank.
 5. The decontamination facility ofclaim 4 where the sump tank receives waste water from the waste-watertank by gravity flow.
 6. The decontamination facility of claim 4, wherethe sump tank has one or more sump pumps located inside it for removingwaste water from the sump tank.
 7. The decontamination facility of claim1 further comprising an auxiliary treatment tank disposed outside thefacility.
 8. The decontamination facility of claim 1, where the facilityis mobile.
 9. The decontamination facility of claim 8, where thefacility further includes a sump tank; the sump tank connected to thewaste-water tank.
 10. The decontamination facility of claim 9 where thesump tank further includes a means for raising the sump tank for traveland for lowering the sump tank to allow gravity flow of waste water fromthe waste-water tank to the sump tank when the facility is in operation.11. A mobile decontamination facility vehicle, comprising: two interiorwalls; the interior walls being seamless; the interior walls defining aninterior space; at least one removable partition; the partition definingtwo decontamination areas within the interior space; one drain disposedcentrally between the interior walls and running substantially thelength of the facility; a waste-water tank connected to the drain forholding waste water from the decontamination areas; a sump tankconnected to the waste-water tank for receiving waste water from thewaste-water tank by gravity flow; the sump tank having one or more sumppumps located inside it; and, the sump tank further including a meansfor raising the sump tank for travel and for lowering the sump tank toallow gravity flow of waste water from the waste-water tank to the sumptank when the facility is in operation.